Harrow.



No. 643,739. Patented Feb. 20, I900. N. H; BLOOM &. 4.. F. LO0S (NoModel.)

Mar/imam J55 n/floos 3 m wibmwoeo loamy soil or in sticky and clayeysoil.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NICKLAS I-I. BLO OM AND JOHN F. LOOS, OF NASHUA, IOWA.

HARROW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 643,739, dated February20, 1900.

Application filed October 14, 1899, $eria1No. 733,650- (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, NIOKLAS H. BLOOM and JOHN F. Loos, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Nashua, in the county of Chickasaw and Stateof Iowa, have invented a new and useful Harrow, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to harrows; and the object in view is to providea harrow which has draft devices at both ends, so that it may be drawnin either direction, the harrow-bars being so connected that when theharrow is drawn from one end the harrow-bars will be held with theirteeth straight or projecting vertically downward and when drawn from theopposite end the harrow-bars will be tilted, so as to give a rearwardinclination to the harrow-teeth. Bysuch arrangement the harrow isadapted to be used either in soft or The harrow-bars and their teethautomatically adjust themselves to the proper angles and remain at suchangles as the harrow is drawn over the ground. Other subordinate objectsand advantages of the invention will appear in the course of the ensuingdescription.

The invention consists in a harrow embodying certain novel features anddetails of construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fullydescribed, illustrated in the drawings, and incorporated in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a harrowconstructed in accordance with this invention, showing the teethpointing straight downward. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through thesame. Fig. 3 is also a longitudinal section showing the harrow bars andteeth tilted rearwardly. Fig. at is a detail section through twoadjacent harrow-bars, showing the cooperation between the clips and the.connecting-links and also showing the dotted-line position of therearmost harrow-bar of the pair when rocked or tilted upward uponstriking an obstruction.

Similar numerals of reference desigate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

The harrow contemplated in this invention comprises a plurality oftoothed harrow-bars 1, arranged at equal distances apart and in parallelrelation to each other. The end or front and rear harrow-bars areprovided with draft devices 2, shown for convenience in the form ofcyebolts, to which the draft-animals may be hitched, thus enabling thebarrow to be drawn from either end. The harrow-bars instead of beingarranged one exactly in front of another are disposed irregularly, or,in other words, the second harrowbar projects at one end beyond thecorresponding end of the front harrow-bar, and the third harrow-barlikewise projects beyond or overlaps-the second harrow-bar. Theharrow-bars may thus be said to be arranged in'zigzag order, the objectof which is to prevent the harrow-teeth 3 from coming in lon-,

gitudinal alinement with each other, thus facilitating the pulverizationor breaking up of the soil and rendering the harrow as a whole easier ofdraft.

The several harrow-bars 1 are connected by links 4. Two or more linksmay be interposed between each pair of harrow-bars, and

each link preferably consists of a straight metal bar or rod, the endsof which are provided with openings to receive bolts, rivets, or othersuitable fasteners5, which pass also through clips 6, secured to theadjacent faces of the harrow-bars, whereby each link is pivotallyconnected at its opposite ends to clips on the harrow-bars, andtherefore pivotally connected to the bars themselves. Each clipcomprises a U-shaped body portion compris ing parallel ears or flanges 7between which the end of the link is pivotally received. These flangesor ears are connected at their upper edges, as shown at 8, and theconnecting portion 8 constitutes a shoulder or abutmenr, againstwhichthe link strikes, thereby limiting the relative movement of theclip in one direction. 7 Each clip is also provided with laterally andoppositely projecting ears 9, having openings to receive screws or otherfasteners 10, by means of which each clip is secured to its respectiveharrow-bar. The clips arranged along one side of each harrow-bar are thesame in construction as those arranged along the opposite side of saidbar, with the exception that the ears and connecting portion of those onone side are pitched at an angle or inclined from a horizontal planeupward at an angle of, say, forty-five degrees, more or less, accordingto the desire of the manufacturer and the requirements of the farmer. Inboth clips, however, the connecting portion of the ears or flanges formsa stop-shoulder which cooperates with the upper side or edge of theconnecting-link.

When the barrow is drawn from one end, the normally-horizontal shouldersof the clips will cooperate with the links and serve to hold theharrow-bars with their teeth projecting straight downward, as shown inFigs. 1 and 2. When the draft-animals are attached to the opposite endof the harrow, the harrowteeth by reason of their contact with the soilwill be canted or tilted rearwardly, and the extent to which the teethmay tilt in a rearward direction will be limited by the normally-inclindshoulders of the clips coming in contact with the connecting-links, asshown in Fig. 3. Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate the position of the parts whenthe harrow is used in loamy or easily-worked soil, and Fig. 3illustrates the position the parts assume when the barrow is drawn fromthe opposite end and when in use upon clayey or sticky soil, the latterarrangement enabling the harrowteeth to clear themselves, thus obviatingclogging the teeth in a manner clearly understood by those familiar withthe art to which this invention appertains.

Owing to the particularforin of connection between the severalharroW-bars should the teeth of any particular harrowbar strike againstan unyielding obstruction the said barrow-bar and the others in rearthereof may yield in an upward direction, so as to pass over theobstruction, and after the obstruction has been passed the barrow-bars,with their teeth, will assume their normal working positions, owing tothe pivotal connection and shouldered engagement between the bars andlinks. The above is true whether the harrow is drawn from one end or theother.

The joint between the links and bars comprised by the links and clips isin the nature of a knuckle-joint, the shoulders of one set of clips orknuckles being normally horizontal and the corresponding shoulders ofthe other clips being normally inclined.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation,andmany advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art without further description, and it will beunderstood that changes in the size, shape, proportion, and minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from thespirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a harrow, harrow-bars, in combination with connecting-links, andclips on the bars having the links pivotally connected thereto andprovided with linkengaging shoulders disposed at an angle to each other,substantially as described.

2. In a harrow, barrow-bars, in combination with connecting-links, andclips on the bars having the links pivotally connected thereto andprovided with link-engaging shoulders, the shoulders at one side of eachbar being disposed at an angle to the shoulders at the opposite side,substantially as described.

3. In a harrow, barrow-bars, in coinbiuation with connecting-links, andclips on the bars to which the links are pivoted, the clips atcorresponding ends of the links having normally-horizontalstop-shoulders and the clips at the opposite ends havingnormallyinclinedstop-shoulders,substantiallyas specified.

4. In a harrow, harrow-bars, in combination with connecting-links, andclips on the bars each comprising ears between which the end of alink'is pivotally received and a connecting portion extending over thelink and forming a limiting-shoulder therefor, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have heretoaflixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

NICKLAS I-I. BLOOM. JOHN F. LOOS.

\Vitnesses:

CHAS. A. ALLEN,

F. XV. KEYES.

